Elvira - CANCELLED
by AngelSabar
Summary: A boring afternoon ride with Morgana proves more eventful than expected for Arthur when he and Merlin hear a child's cry - but can they help the person in question before it's too late? - CANCELLED
1. Chapter 1

For those Rascal Flatts fans, the words Elvira sings to the man are those of the chorus of Rascal Flatts' brilliant "Stand" I recommend it

This was ridiculous. Why was he doing this? Oh yes, because his father had told him to. That was why he found himself riding with Morgana, Merlin and Gwen through a forest and towards a ravine. Morgana wanted a ride and King Uther ordered his son to accompany his ward on the ride. Stupid. Stupid and annoying and plain boring. Arthur sighed and focussed on the slim trail they were following. A noise reached his ears – trained as they were for the sound of an ambush – and he halted his journey.

"Shh." He raised his hand and cut off Morgana's curious blabber before it could truly begin. The noise came again and this time it was unmistakable to even Merlin's ears; the sound of a child crying in fear. Morgana and Gwen gasped and followed Arthur's lead as he spurred his horse in the direction of the sound.

Elvira looked up to the man stood above her. Her scarred knees were pressed against the white chalk floor as her feet felt the sudden drop of the ravine behind her. Her filthy, ragged skirt billowed around her as her silver-grey eyes stared into the hazel ones of her abuser.

"Sing for me girl! I am bored and wish for you to enlighten my day. Sing!" The command was obvious and he reinforced it with a blow to her face. His wife looked on in pompous disgust at the servant girl on the floor. Elvira felt the lid finally snap from the tightly closed chest in which she kept her fury. The volcano erupted and she felt a cold anger towards the couple who took children as their servants and treated them like rabid dogs.

"When push comes to shove, you taste what you're made of. You might bend 'till you break, cause that's all you can take. On your knees you look up, decide you've had enough, you get mad, you get strong, wipe your hands, shake it off and you stand." As she sung she stood gracefully and confronted the terrors of her life for the last year.

The singing was the next sound which came to their ears as Arthur and Morgana guided their horses towards the action.

Elvira stepped lightly around the broad man. She was small for her age, only four foot seven at seventeen but she had had enough of being beaten and abused.

"Get back here girl!" The woman scolded. There was the sound of approaching horse hooves but Elvira ignored them, they would only belong to people who would continue along their way. The man strode the small distance to her and closed his beefy hands around her tiny biceps and Elvira shoved. She had little natural strength but her anger fuelled her and the unexpected force sent the man stumbling backwards. His flailing arms struck his prim, sour-faced wife and she too began to fall towards the chalky ravine. Her grasping claws grabbed onto the nearest thing, another child by the name of Ben who cried out in alarm.

The events escalated rapidly and Elvira knew that she and the other abused serving children only had a short moment to take their escape. She crouched and called to the young boy who stood just to the left of where the man had been. She dare not go any further for she was certain that her added weight would crumble the cliff and her friends would fall. Desperation was clear in her voice as she cried,

"William. Please, come on! Will." The boy, of no more than six needed no further prompting and ran to the girl who had been his protection from the abuse for over a year. The woman and man had, by now, managed to regain their balance and Ben sat where he had fallen at the feet of the woman with pursed lips.

"Give me back the boy you insolent child. You will be flogged for this!"

The threat cut through the air and the company spurred on their horses, the edge of the forest was just ahead and someone was in need of help.

"Never." Elvira's strong voice sliced through the last of the man's hold on his fury and he launched at her. She tightened her hold on William and dived to her left, taking the blow for both of them she felt the searing pain in her shoulder and wondered in desperation if she was going to survive this encounter. The man tripped over his own weight and Elvira seized the moment. She released her grip on Will and threw herself towards her baby sister. The woman did the same and Elvira reached Rachel just before the sour-faced woman, but the blow had winded her and it took all her effort to scramble away with the only relative she had left and back next to Will. Now she had two of the three children who had suffered abuse with her but Ben remained in the clutches of the horrific wife. The man struggled to his feet and then scurried back several feet as four horses raced out of the forest. Elvira knew what was happening before it happened and she screamed Ben's name. The horse's hooves had sent the vibrations needed to collapse the overhang of chalk cliff and the woman clutched at her husband as the ground collapsed beneath them. Elvira scrambled to the new cliff edge and peered over only to see Ben hanging onto an old root of a dead tree.

"Ben!" She called and he looked up but the strain of holding himself up was obviously taking its toll on his malnourished and weakened body. She strained to reach him as he began to slip but her arms were too short. She felt cold tears fall onto her cheek – she couldn't lose Ben. Not when he'd been through so much with her. She fought to reach him but she was still too short and Ben's grip fell from the root.

"Ben!" She screamed, the volume of her terror stripping her throat raw in one sound. Time seemed to stop as Ben's face fell from her and then, suddenly, it stopped. She found that she could hear when she had not been able to hear as her friend fell from life and she heard the ragged breath of a young man and the crying of a baby. She turned in shock to the blonde young man at her side and she nearly fainted from the revelation.

"Prince Arthur." She whispered but she immediately turned her attention back to Ben who was now desperately reaching for her outstretched hand. AS his hand slid into hers Arthur heaved again and Ben rolled over the top of the cliff and into Elvira's arms. She hugged him tightly to her body, her tears embedded themselves in his thick black hair as she murmured over and over,

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

When some composure had been regained Elvira crawled – too weak to stand – back to Rachel and Will.

"Why did you save me El?" Ben's voice asked, "I'm not worth saving. I'm a bad boy. Master Forntigue said so." Elvira gazed at Ben with overwhelming sympathy and compassion,

"If Master Forntigue said it then it is wrong Ben. We all have badness inside of us, but I believe we can all be beautiful and you are beautiful." She smiled and forced herself to stand, lifting Rachel and Will with her. Will stood to her left and Ben to her right as she faced their saviours.

"Bow Will, that's Prince Arthur and Lady Morgana." She hissed and she curtseyed as low as possible, "Thank you sire. Milady, I do not know how to repay you." Rachel began to cry and Elvira turned to quiet her. Morgana gasped as the whip marks became obvious through her ripped top.

"You must come with us and we will help you." Elvira looked at the beautiful lady and then at Arthur but her eyes rested on Merlin. An unknown emotion stirred in her heart – it was not dissimilar to the feeling she had for Rachel, Ben and Will but this was strong and laced with something so potent she managed to identify it with some shock as lust. A flush heated her skin as she remembered her ragged, bloodied appearance and the undignified experienced the young man had just witnessed.

"Come with us." The prince pressed and Elvira found her feet moving before she was aware that she had made a decision to move. She handed Rachel to the crooning Morgana and boosted Will up behind Gwen. When Ben was settled safely behind Arthur she turned and accepted the pale hand outstretched towards her. She mounted the horse with a little difficulty as her back and legs began to burn in protest against her injuries but she managed a smile for the young servant,

"I'm Merlin."

"Elvira." She replied shyly,

"Well, Elvira, I promise your life will be better from now on under Camelot's protection." His breath was warm in her ear and she blushed again as the horses began to move on.


	2. You're not alone

The song featured in this is What If by Ana Johnsson – first and second verse. Amazing Swedish singer highly recommended.

This was painful. More than painful. It was painful and humiliating. He was twelve not two and yet the old guy was treating him like a baby.

"There you go young man. All cleaned up – but you will need to come back to have your dressing changed in a few days." Ben stood up and pulled on his tunic,

"Thanks."

As he walked out of the door Gaius wondered at how silent the boy was. He very rarely spoke and when he did the words were few. The raven black hair framed a sullen face and the boy was continually in a sulk – it wasn't normal and Gaius worried about the newest additions to Camelot.

Ben kept to the shadows as he walked through the castle to the rooms given to them by King Uther. Instinctively, he wanted to hide from the eyes of nobility for nobility had been the source of his agony and shame for years now. His thoughts fell to Master Forntigue and he shivered; that man had been evil and his wife no better. Their death brought a sense of joy and freedom – as wrong as it was. His thoughts then turned to Elvira. When she had arrived, the newest addition to the Forntigue staff he had been smug, knowing that she would suffer the pain of continual beatings as he had. However, he quickly felt compassion and companionship towards the girl as she took the abuse for young William, the baby Rachel and even sometimes for him. She had an inner core of steel that he respected and loved. He adored her bravery, strength and ability to forgive but he feared her too – for she had made the Forntigues cower at one point when the Mistress had struck baby Rachel and anyone who made those two cower was worthy of fear. The fear, though, was nothing compared to the love he felt towards her; she was like an older sister, a best friend and a mother all in one and he loved her for that. For being there.

Eventually, he reached the rooms that were theirs and he slumped on the bed that Elvira had insisted he take. There were two small beds and a larger one, this larger one was Bens whilst William and Rachel shared one bed and Elvira took the other. It was cosy and certainly better than the cold straw beds of the Forntigue house. Ben couldn't stop thinking about Master Forntigue. His voice haunted his dreams.

"Wicked boy!" He would shout, "Devil, wicked, evil boy! Your sins must be punished! Wicked, evil, sinful boy!" He could remember the whippings as if they were happening all over again. Master Forntigue had been right so often he must be right about Ben; he must be a wicked, evil boy. Wicked boys did evil things to the people who cared for them. Ben didn't want to hurt Elvira or Will or Rachel. He knew he would, Master Forntigue had told him how evil and wicked he was so often. Master Forntigue had tried to make things better with him; tried to make him a god boy but it hadn't worked. There was still that cold anger, that deadly fury in him. He was wicked and evil and he had to get away before he hurt somebody he shouldn't. He began to collect his few belongings together as he resolved to leave Camelot before night fell.

Elvira smiled at Gwen as she handed her the flowers.

"Just something to say thank you for your help with Rachel. When I was...ill." Gwen smiled and ushered her into the house, taking the lilacs from her hands.

"They are beautiful Ell; I'll just put them in some water." As Gwen filled a vase from the bucket of water she had just brought, Ell, looked around, unsure of what to do. Uther had given her work as a servant, for which she was eternally grateful and Ben had found a man who would give him an apprenticeship in a year's time. The future was looking brighter and Gwen had helped with that; taking Rachel in so that she and Morgana could care for her as Elvira recovered from her injuries. The whip marks had become infected and she knew how Gaius' talent for medicine had saved her life; as it was now helping Ben and his wounds.

"So, the Lady Morgana is holding a small dinner for some close friends – would you care to join us?" Ell looked at Gwen in confusion, so the handmaid elaborated, "It is a small affair, the Lady and Prince Arthur, myself and Merlin, we wondered if you would care to dine with us." Ell frantically began to work things out,

"But...what about Rachel, and William? And Ben? I cannot simply leave them for the evening." Gwen appeared thoughtful before replying,

"Well, bring them along. Little Rachel would sleep through it I suppose and young William is such a dear." Elvira remembered how Gwen had taken such a liking to the little boy, as if he were her brother she had cared for him when Ell couldn't, "Although I should think Ben would decline the offer, he is welcome to join us. It is tonight, in the small hall, the King is humouring his ward with this so we must make the most of it." Ell took another moment to consider it before agreeing,

"If you so insist – and if it would not be any trouble, that would be nice." They exchanged a few more pleasantries before Elvira headed to collect Rachel from a nice old woman who looked after the children whose parents were busy at work. Finding Will though, was another matter altogether.

It took a good while for Elvira to track down Will and when she eventually did it was in the Prince Arthur's chambers. She looked fleetingly into the room through the open door and noticed a small boy of no older than six with bright blonde hair and a child's curiosity,

"William!" She said sharply, knowing that he would listen to the disapproval on her voice more than the words. Indeed, the boy turned and looked in shame at the floor. A deep chuckle came from just out of sight, followed by the words,

"Do come in Elvira. Young William was simply copying Merlin here." Hoping the flush wasn't too obvious in her cheeks, Elvira did as the voice said and entered the room.

"Bad. Will." Rachel scolded making everyone but Will laugh.

"Hush now Rach." Ell muttered, burying her nose in her baby sister's neck, "Hush."

"Sorry Ellie, M-M-Merlin said I...co-could learn h-how to be a s-s-s-serv-ant." Ell recognised Will's stammer made worse by the fear that she would punish him as the Forntigues had. She shifted Rachel's weight in her hip and crouched down until she was face to face with the boy,

"Will, it's OK but you know better than to just go off and not let me know where you are. Do not do it again. Please? And do not annoy Merlin or Prince Arthur they have been very good to us. Ok?" She enunciated each word of the last two sentences – knowing that Will's understanding of words wasn't great. She smiled and ruffled the blonde hair as she stood again and then faced the two young men.

"I'm sorry about that. It's not easy keeping track of them sire." Arthur went to speak when Rachel cut across him,

"Mer-Mer! Mer-Mer!" She called, clapping her hands, leaning away from Elvira and stretching towards Merlin. Merlin smiled and Elvira laughed softly,

"I think she likes you Merlin." She said. Merlin held his arms out towards the young girl and Elvira adjusted Rachel so that she could hand her over.

"There." She whispered gently as Rachel held onto Merlin's tunic and Merlin held onto her.

"Sire I –"

"Ben!" Will cut across Elvira who spun around in time to see Ben pause at the sound of his name. There was a small bag slung over his shoulder and he had his outdoor cloak on.

"Ben?" Ell called and then he was off, sprinting down the corridor, "Ben!"

Ben knew he was hurting her. It hurt him to know and hear it in her voice as she called and called to him. She couldn't understand it, nobody could. He had to leave. Hurting her like this was better than what would happen if he stayed – as wicked as he was.

"Ben!" He skidded around the corner and thudded into the wall before racing off again. His progress was brought to a sudden halt as arms grabbed his waist. Strong, tanned, muscular arms with a red tunic sleeve rolled up to the elbows, Arthur had caught him – again. Ben began to fight but when he felt her cool hand on his cheek he stopped. He knew it was useless. He looked to her face and saw the tear tracks on her pale skin,

"Ben, why?" When Ben remained silent she looked to Arthur, "Thank you Sire – Thank you." Arthur released the boy who simply stood before the young woman. "Why Ben?" She pressed again. Ben looked into her desperate, loving brown eyes,

"Because I'm wicked and evil and I will hurt you. I don't want to hurt you. I wanted to – "

"What?" Elvira was smiling now, a sad knowing smile but still a smile,

"I'm wicked and – "

"No, repeat the last bit you said." Ben thought for a moment then,

"I don't want to hurt you. I wanted to...protect you."

"Ben, do you really think a wicked, evil boy would care if he hurt me, would he want to protect me?" She pulled him to her, "You are not wicked Ben, not wicked or evil or nasty or spiteful or anything. You are a nice boy, a sweet boy, a kind, polite and loving boy – you are a wonderful boy Ben and don't you forget it."

"But...but master Forntigue said I had the devil inside me." Elvira squeezed him to her a little tighter,

"Master Forntigue was wrong. Master Forntigue had the devil in him, not you Ben, never you." She began to hum then, and words began to flow from her mouth. She knew her singing calmed Ben when he was troubled and she called on it now,

"Couldn't move a mountain but, what if. Couldn't be an angel nor a goddess. There's so many stories; we'd love to believe. But all I ever can be is me. There's a devil inside us all. But I believe in the beautiful. We can't change today. Undo yesterday; Make it go away; But what if. When tomorrow comes; We could be the ones; Who make miracles. What if?" Ben relaxed in her arms and she sent him with Will and Rachel to their rooms, knowing that the other two would keep him sane until she could talk to him. Then she turned again to Arthur,

"Sire, thank you so much. Sire, thank you I..." Arthur smiled and nodded,

"It's nothing Elvira." Her eyes then fell on Merlin and she saw his concern for the impact the Forntigues had had on her and her friends; nobody had known how corrupt they had been until they had witnessed the effects and Merlin was worried.

"It's Ok Merlin." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "I promise." He pulled her close and Arthur turned politely the other way as he hugged her tightly,

"You're not alone Ellie, you have me and Gwen, Morgana and even Arthur. We're here, I'm here." Then he released her and she smiled, feeling the tears overflow as she became aware of the love she felt for her new friends,

"Thank you Merlin, that means a lot."


	3. What if I lost you Will?

The song Elvira sings this time is another Ana Johnsson song – Falling to pieced

She was going to kill him when she found him! He'd wandered off yet again! This time, she headed directly for Arthur's chambers,

"Will!" She called, "William!"

"Ellie!" Came the replying shout from the Prince's chambers. She knocked – barely – before bursting into the room and grabbing the young blonde boy.

"Where have you been? I've told you before about running off haven't I? HAVEN'T I?" She was barely aware that she was shaking him until he answered meekly,

"Yes, sorry Ellie." Elvira didn't want to let her anger slip but she couldn't keep hold of it much longer,

"One day I will have your head boy! How many times do I have to tell you? TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE AT **ALL** TIMES!"

"Ell." A hand was placed gently on her shoulder and she instantly calmed, "It's OK, everything is OK. Nobody has hurt him."

"That's not the point Merlin." Elvira replied curtly. She heaved Will into her arms and stormed out of the room.

"Over-reacted much?" Arthur commented, still reeling in shock from the scene,

"Hmmn." Merlin replied, he was watching the door through which the young woman had just left,

"She's just over-protective, that's all." He tried to reason, but he knew that what they had just seen wasn't simply a case of over-reacting; she had been scared, and her fear had ignited her temper faster than lightning.

"You will stay in this room until I return, understood?" Will refused to look at Elvira, "Un-der-stood?" He nodded meekly and Elvira slammed the door behind her. She closed her eyes for a moment and allowed a tear to slip from beneath her closed eye-lids.

"What if I lost you?" She whispered before regaining her composure and heading off to work.

Will didn't hate her. He thought that maybe he was supposed to but he didn't. He had hated Master and Mistress Forntigue but they were cruel because they liked it. Ellie was cruel because she was scared. She wanted to look after them and that made her cruel sometimes. So no, he didn't hate her – but he didn't like her right at that moment.

Returning to their rooms, Elvira's steps became heavier and heavier with guilt. She shouldn't have shouted at Will like that – he was only a boy. She definitely shouldn't have shaken him so roughly and shutting him in the room had been downright wrong. She had a few coins in her skirt pocket that she had been saving for treats when everything had been bought. It was these that she took to the lower town and with them she bought candy for the three children – she knew she had been rash in her actions. She sat with the children for a long time that night, laughing and playing.

"You better now Ellie?" Will asked, Elvira smiled. She knew Will thought her anger tantrums were times when the bad voices in her head got louder than the good voices – and to some extent he was right,

"I'm better now Will, yes. Would you like to hear a song?" Eager nods came from the other three and Elvira began to sing softly, "Try to find a way to figure out. What's holding me down; And it tears me apart now. Tired of the weight I drag around. Slowly breaking, I'm fading away; Stumbling blind, I need some peace of mind so... Won't somebody come around and save me? I'm out here alone Falling to pieces. I'm standing on the edge now. Can you hear me calling? Coz I'm falling to pieces"

The next morning was Elvira's day off and she planned to spend it with the children. She awoke later in the morning – the sun was up – and she quickly washed before slipping into a black cotton dress.

"Rachel?" She called as she prepared their breakfast, "Will, Ben? Anybody?" After a quick search of the room she found that none of the children were present and panic leaked into her system. She hurried out of the chamber and began a frantic search for them; she missed the note that lay on Will's bed;

_We took the children for a picnic, you can come join us when you wake up, we are down by the lake – Morgana and Gwen._

Merlin heard her calling before he saw her. Arthur looked up as she rushed into the room,

"H...have you seen Will and Ra...Rach? B...Ben too? They're missing." She was almost hysterical and Merlin wondered what had happened in the past when the children went missing to make her so now. He took her into a hug, stroking her hair to calm her as Arthur answered,

"They went to the lake with Morgana and Gwen for a picnic; we were just about to join them." Elvira looked up at the blonde prince and smiled weakly,

"Th...thank you sire." She curtseyed and left. The boys scrambled after her and saw her dress swirl around a corner,

"Good lord, she might just kill them." Arthur commented as they raced through the castle after her.

Merlin caught up to her before she reached the lake and there was no mistaking the fury in her eyes.

"Ell! Ellie! Elvira!" He called, louder each time. Eventually she stopped and turned to him, "they are OK Ell, nobody is going to hurt them." She scoffed,

"Nooo, there's just three children who've been through hell out near a body of water with two women. One of whom just happens to be nobility. Do you know what happened last time Will was near water? Do you? No, well I'll tell you – he tried to drown himself. He was with Mistress Forntigue and he tried to drown himself. At six years old Merlin! Six!" Merlin didn't know what to say but he took Elvira's cool hand in his own and walked her to the lake,

"Well, you turning up all angry and upset isn't going to help is it? You need to be calm Ellie. Calm down and think straight. You get all fired up without learning all the facts. You mean well and after what you've been through I'm not surprised you're over-protective but you over-react a lot of the time and the children don't need that. Will and Rachel don't need that and after what Ben tried to do he doesn't need you mad either? They need you to be there happy and smiling and protective Ellie, not angry and crazy." She knew Merlin was telling the truth and she knew she was over-reacting. She was also hyper-aware of Merlin's hand over hers.

"You're right." She conceded finally, "I just...when I care about someone I tend to over-react." Merlin didn't say how he thought it was sweet and how he wanted her to over-react about him.

"Look, calm down and then we'll go join them OK? Arthur went on ahead to tell them you were coming." Elvira nodded. She hadn't managed to douse the entire fire of fury that burned inside her, but Merlin had reduced it to a small flame.

"Merlin, I...I should say thank you. I...nobody ever tried to...um" Her sentence drifted as she locked eyes with the young warlock. She fell into the deep blue as if she was floating forever on the sea. His breath warmed her skin as she began to flush the faintest hue of red. She could hardly breath, his lips were inches from hers and lust was stirring in her stomach,

"Mer-Mer! Mer-Mer!" Came a small voice and they broke away. They were both blushing furiously now as Merlin laughed and picked up the little Rachel. His eyes landed briefly on Arthur, Morgana and Gwen who were smiling slyly at them. Elvira picked up Will and kissed his forehead before smiling at Merlin. Her eyes connected with the cool grey eyes of Ben, he gave her the faintest nod and she smiled.


	4. What's your favourite colour?

Here the song Elvira sings is a slight adaptation of Taylor Swift's "I'd lie" (I also wanted to change the birthday, but I don't know when said someone was meant to be born :S)

Gaius was worried. He watched Ben trudge out of the door again after another re-dressing of his wounds. It wasn't the wounds – although they were bad enough – that worried him though. It was the deep bruising across his body. The boy carried the scars of numerous beatings and when Gaius checked his notes, they matched the ones he had seen on Elvira's slender body whilst treating her. A niggling fear crept into his head; bruising like this was wrong – and it could be a symptom of an underlying problem.

The weeks passed easily enough. Merlin had his fair amount of adventures, but he gradually spent more time in the chamber of Elvira and the others than in his own. He began to see them relax. They laughed and played, finally understanding that they were no longer in danger of abuse.

"Merlin, I must speak with you." Gaius said sternly on one of the rare occasions when he saw his young apprentice.

"What is it Gaius?" Merlin asked, barely concentrating on the elder.

"I believe there is a serious problem with the young Elvira, Ben and the children." That caught Merlin's attention, he turned to fully face his guardian, eyes bright,

"Like what?"

"Well, whenever I see one of them, which is quite often, there's a new complaint." Merlin nodded, "this isn't like them, they hate coming to me and being seen as weak." Again Merlin nodded, none of that group enjoyed admitting a problem. "But I believe that all these complaints come from one source. I fear that there is permanent damage to their tissues from the abuse." Merlin's face fell. There was no way that any of them could handle permanent suffering.

"What can I do?" He asked. Gaius' expression was grim,

"Get them to consent to a full examination. Starting with Elvira."

Elvira found herself once again racing down corridors looking for Will. She knew that this time he wasn't with Arthur or Merlin because they were both at the practice rink, and she could see that from their rooms.

"Will! Please Will!" She called and called, begging for the young boy to appear. Then, passing the Great Hall, she heard a laugh and Will's young voice,

"That's a funny hat!" Cursing mentally, Elvira hesitated before the open doors and noticed that the speaker was indeed William. Talking to His Majesty Uther Pendragon. About his crown.

"Will!" She scolded. "I am sooo sorry your majesty." She called, dipping into the lowest curtsey she could.

"Ah, Elvira isn't it?" Uther asked. Elvira nodded respectfully, "I believe this young man is yours?" Again Ell nodded, "he came with Sir Leon, who rather likes him I believe." Elvira looked gratefully to Sir Leon who nodded a little bashfully.

"Sorry Sire." She repeated, again curtseying, "it won't happen again." Uther frowned slightly,

"Hmmn, I would hope not. But the boy does rather remind me of Arthur when he was his age. He was always running off. Now young William here says you can sing, is that true?" Elvira felt herself tense. Every muscle locked in anticipation of the scoldings and abuse that normally came when she was ordered by nobility to sing for them.

"Y...yes sire." She whispered, her voice suddenly weak.

"Well, how would you like to entertain us, just a quick song. Even Arthur speaks of your incredible voice." A blush wanted to hue her cheeks but she was too afraid and so she focussed completely on William and began to sing one of her newer songs.

"I don't think that saddled seat  
Has ever looked this good to me,  
He tells me about his night  
And I count the colours in his eyes." Immediately, her voice enthralled the room and silence fell.

"He'll never fall in love  
He swears, as he runs his fingers through his hair,  
I'm laughing 'cause I hope he's wrong.  
And I don't think it ever crossed his mind  
He tells a joke, I fake a smile  
That I know all his favourite songs." Footsteps echoed down the corridor and stopped outside the doorway as the returning Knights listened to the song.  
"And I could tell you  
His favourite colour's green  
He loves to argue,  
Born on the seventeenth  
His mother's beautiful  
He saw his father die  
And if you ask me if I love him  
I'd lie." The Knights outside were joined by Merlin and Arthur, both of whom were struck by a recognition of the traits Elvira described as she sang.  
"He looks around the room  
Innocently overlooks the truth,  
Shouldn't a light go on  
Doesn't he know that I've had him memorized for so long.  
And he sees everything black and white  
Never let nobody see him cry  
I don't let nobody see me wishin' he was mine." Merlin smiled slightly, he remembered when she accused him of seeing in black and white; they had been arguing over whether Master and Mistress Forntigue were truly evil and he had agreed, she hadn't.  
"I could tell you  
His favourite colour's green  
He loves to argue,  
Born on the seventeenth  
His mother's beautiful  
He saw his father die  
And if you ask me if I love him  
I'd lie." William was clutching at Elvira's hand now, knowing that she was frightened beyond hope,  
"He stands there, then walks away  
My God, if I could only say  
I'm holding every breath for you." The listeners' were holding their breath as the voice of an angel washed over them.

"He'd never tell you  
But he can play the lute,  
I think he can see through everything but my heart.  
First thought when I wake up is  
My God, he's beautiful  
So I put on my make-up  
And pray for a miracle." She was praying now, for a quick escape.  
"Yes, I could tell you  
His favourite colour's green,  
And he loves to argue  
Oh, and it kills me.  
His mother's beautiful  
He saw his father die,  
And if you ask me if I love him...  
if you ask me if I love him...  
I'd lie." Applause erupted all around and Uther smiled, a true smile,

"The tales were true." Elvira curtseyed once more and raced from the room, tumbling through the gathered knights.

"Merlin." Arthur asked later, "what's your favourite colour?" Merlin laughed,

"Green, why?"

"And you're born on the seventeenth yes?" Merlin nodded, frowning in confusion. "I just wondered." Arthur shrugged, but he slept with a smile on his face, anticipating how Merlin could partner with a girl as unique as Elvira.


End file.
